did anyone even bother CDing in the 80's 😲

[Robin414]

I've been watching a lot of 80's videos lately and am I wrong or did EVERYONE look like a chic!? I'm not TG/CD...I'm a freaking 80's Rock Star !?

https://youtu.be/Hphwfq1wLJs

Now where did I put my keys to the time machine? 😳

[MissDanielle]

Dustin Hoffman did...

[Robin777]

LOL Where I lived nobody dressed like Rod Stewart in that video.

[AngelaYVR]

In 1977, on the way home from school, a girl asked me if I was a boy or a girl. Yep, trendsetter, that's me!

[docrobbysherry]

No. In the late 90's. In my 50's!:heehee:

[pamela7]

70's you mean? check out "Mud" and "Sweet" - both bands have a crossdresser in the line up. xx

[Taylor186]

The early 80s is when I finally came out of the crossdressing closet. 70s glam rock and crossdressing had much overlap and definitely influenced my style at the time.

[Kate Simmons]

Especially in the 80's. I was in my CD prime then. ;):)

[Heidi Stevens]

Tom Hanks, Peter Scollari, and Me. Looks like I was in good crossdressing company.

[Kate's at home]

This is when I first became serious about dressing. I purchased my very first long black full lace dress then. It was absolutely beautiful. Maybe the prettiest dress I've ever owned. With matching shawls in silver, gold and white. I wish I still had it. It went in my first purge. Along w/ some exquisite lingerie. And some other beautiful dresses and gowns. And hose and shoes. And make up.

I'm depressing myself thinking about it...oh my.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving,

Kate

[prettytoes]

Ahhh...shoulder pads and stirrup pants...I miss the 80's! lol

[Vivian Best]

OK! How about the late 1940's and 50's! Christene Jorgensen roamed the world then.

[Cheryl T]

The 80's were just another decade, with different style clothing that I wore.
Since I began in the 50's, rocked my long locks in the 60's and 70's, discoed through the 80's and made it through the 90's, the turn of the century and now the 2010's they all seem like just another change of clothes.
Now I no longer worry about be "fashionable", I just wear MY clothes....bring on the 2020's.

[Erica Marie]

The 80's is when it all started for me, took me 25 years to refine my dressing and another 5 to figure out that I am a transgender person.

[Anneliese]

My divorce took place in 1986, and the ex split with the clothes on her back...literally...

I was left with a WEALTH of clothing, including all of her sexy stuff, and she had tons. As she was a size 10-12, I could have worn most of it. However, my next-door neighbor was a horny creature who had eyes for me (I never acted upon it because she was married...longer story here), and she immediately suggested I have a yard sale and get rid of everything in order to pay the bills of being a (now) single parent. I sold damned near everything, but kept a couple blouses and a couple bras. Can you believe they STILL smell like her? I wish I'd kept a few more things, but I've more than made up for it with way too many purchases. I have no intention of ever purging, but I might have to sell down in order to empty out the two rooms stacked to the ceiling with clothes.

[Sheila11]

I had hair modeled after the "BeeGee's". Way past my ears and down on my shoulders. Blow dryer every time I'm out of the shower. I didn't stand out because everyone was doing the same thing.

I could blow my hair out and look pretty with my own hair. Wish I had that hair today.

[Beverley Sims]

Like Sheila I had long hair, dressed up I looked like a thirty year old woman. Attractive to boot.

Was into lots of parties then as the rot had not set in and I still looked good.

[LydiaL]

The company I worked for in the 80's was pretty conservative, so long hair was not allowed. Drat.

But that did not stop me from starting to buy wigs and to dress. Some clothing could still be acceptable today!

[Richelle423]

I use the excuse of growing up in the 80's as a reason of my CDing lol..I absolutely love the fashon of that decade.

[Midasgirl]

The shiny tracksuits/shellsuits from the late 80s were like a gateway drug to CDing for me. A girl in my class had a nice blue one and I used to fantasise about wearing it. The material looked lovely. Then my mom bought me one, pretty much the same color ( they were unisex ). Loved the glossy shine and often stared at myself in the mirror as I wore it. It had a satin look but not a satin feel, though - kind of disappointing.
So I had to find something silkier... and next thing I knew I was getting my kicks from my mom's satin pjs and blouses. :)

[lisalove]

1985 about a year after I graduated. I moved out on my own and started wearing only clothing meant for a woman.
I'll be turning 50 next month, so it's been a very long time in those clothes and I've never looked back.

[Anneliese]

The 80s were...interesting...for me.

I was supposed to have died in l980 of a heart condition, but somehow survived. Even my docs aren't sure why I made it. Soon thereafter I was married to the ex, an insatiable trailer park trash blonde. For the five plus years of my marriage, we did it 5-6,000 times. Non-stop. In all the years before and since, less than a hundred times. During those five years I was blatantly hetero. In the years before and since, I've been pretty much asexual leaning strongly on my feminine side. The music was pretty bad in the 80s, and the ex had MTV blaring 24/7. I really, really like the Big Hair aspect, and I really like that it was the last decade...at least the first half...of easy-to-treat if at all STDs.

[Allisa]

Started my "going out" in the very early 80's.Didn't know about the term CDer or any other for that matter, I was so young. As I type this I have a sort of "big hair" thing going on, don't ask why. Than the big purge and deep denial for so long, until just recently coming to terms with my gender fluidity and once again enjoying my CDing, but that's a story for another time.

[Anneliese]

I too am gender fluid.

I have a vague recollection of trying on some of my mother's clothes a couple of times...nylons and high-heels specifically...but the first time I ever really dressed was in my ex's clothes after she split...and that was only a couple of times until around 2002, when I hit my first full-fledged CD moments, complete with nail polish and lipstick, etc. Then a few years off again, until about 2008 or so.

[Karren H]

I first went out dressed in the late 60s. Loved the 60s look way more than I did the 80s.

[kittie60]

I started mine in the mid seventies.. that's when I started getting my own clothes but I guess I really started on three sixties (

[Adriana Moretti]

That was actually 78 that Rod Stewart came out ( music nerd alert) LOL.......Now I know why this song always used to make me tingle when I would hear my mom play it on her record player when I was supposed to be in bed sleeping but secretly dancing under the covers. Donna Summer was a big one too....gee.....thanks MOM this is all your fault xoxo

[sometimes_miss]

Remember that what you see in the entertainment world is mostly fiction. Even KISS took off their make up once they were out of the public eye.

[Jennifer in CO]

spent the first half of the 80's totally on the other side. Spent the next 1/4 of it back and forth, spent the last part of it back in drab...

[lingerieLiz]

Well I started in the 50s. In the 80s I started wearing blouses openly. As well as women's sweaters. The western craze helped with the blouses and the shoulder pads helped with the more fem styles.

[Adriana Moretti]

Remember that what you see in the entertainment world is mostly fiction. Even KISS took off their make up once they were out of the public eye.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f68VXKMZT1Q

[Robin414]

OMG, that was sooo offensive and like totally rude 'n s***t! 😢

That was soooo freaking funny!!! 😂😂😂 I love Seth McFarlane!

[paulaprimo]

no clue what you're talkin bout???? looks normal to me ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tI1_KlO6xI

[debstar]

Yes
https://youtu.be/TDbNvPs3i-k

[JessiAnne]

I did. Was my first time living away from home, was spring/summer of 1980.
Remember buying my first dress from a store in Queens, NY.
As I remember, this was a teens store that carried sizes up to 11.
And a size 11 fit! Been a real long time since that was the case
Funniest part was, it wasn't till after I left New York that I found the paper that had ads in the back for stores that catered to TS/CD.
Probably a good thing, would have spent my whole paycheck.

[TrishaTX]

Deb great one! I think we have come a little from there

[Jaylah414]

Thanks Robin, for opening this thread. It brought me back to another time and another culture that I might have enjoyed, if things had been different.

Some folks say that the Eighties killed Glam Rock. Instead, I think that it simply lost its shock value. The Glam Metal bands of that era just seemed to melt away. By the late eighties, androgyny in music had simply lost its chic.

Anyway, the stage had been set for the crossdressing Hair Bands of the Eighties a decade earlier. Their roots in the outlandish evolved from the avant-garde, bisexual chic of the Seventies and the birth of the Glam Rock bands.

Let’s not forget that Elvis donned his first, white jumpsuit in 1969.

In the early Seventies, though, most of the American Rock scene was still powered by the Rock legends of the Woodstock era. Their understated dress, and their nothing-fancy, Hippie personas might have begun to wear a little thin. Their music was more art than Pop, leaving the stage set for a new era in popular culture. That’s when a few British and American Glitter bands jumped in and changed the landscape of Rock music for the next two decades.

British Rocker Marc Bolan of T-Rex had taken to glitter and boas soon after David Bowie had introduced his Ziggy Stardust persona in '71, I believe. Almost immediately, groups like Mott the Hoople, Mud, Roxy Music, and The Sweet were racing to the top of the charts. Even American Rocker Suzie Quatro had become more famous in Europe than back home in the US.

Meanwhile, in America, Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground, The New York Dolls, Iggy Pop and White Witch were adding a more edgy feel, introducing Glam Rock into the Heavy Metal, Proto-Punk and Psychedelic genres. Hard Rocker, Alice Cooper, even adopted Marc Bolan’s boa – Except Alice’s was alive!

Glam had become a full-fledged member of the Seventies Pop Scene. Even the Rolling Stones dipped a toe into the world of Glam while changing little more than their haircuts. However, the Disco-like stylings of the Some Girls album probably helped. Other super groups of the Seventies that adopted the over-the-top, Glam look were Kiss, Elton John, Queen, Abba and the Bay City Rollers. These were varied and diverse musical styles, all sharing the larger-than-life, flamboyant makeup and clothing styles of the Glam Rock period.

By the 1980’s, Glam’s androgynous look and extravagant performances had become so infused in the Pop culture that androgyny was no longer Chic – And, it would soon become passe’.

Personally, I never took to this sub-culture. I was still stuck in the Blues and Classical based Rock styles begun in the Sixties. By the Seventies, I did follow some of the Super Groups, but my heart did and still does lie with the blue jeans, T-shirts and wailing guitars of the Album Rock era. But, to be honest, circumstances left me few choices.

As a little kid in the early sixties, I learned that anything associated with an alternative gender identity could get someone into serious trouble. The notion that a man was a man was beaten into me. Little boys didn’t do those kinds of things. So, from that point on, I was bound and determined not to give in. If that meant ignoring the possibility of dressing up and having fun, that was okay. I had to be a man, and real men didn’t do those things.

Fifty years of continuous practice, and look where that got me!


Oh, by the way, that line, “some folks say” is my favorite line from Fox News. That’s the line they use when they want to introduce something into a discussion that has nothing to do with verifiable fact or evidence. They just pull it out of their collective ***es. So, no, I never really heard anyone say that the ‘80’s killed Glam Rock. I just thought it sounded like a good hook. So, please, forgive my lapse in journalistic ethics – If you can.

[Robin414]

Wow, great analysis of the rock scene Jaylah, good points ☺

[Jaylah414]

Thanks, Robin. I tried. I love music, especially the music I grew up with, and older music that I was introduced to by my older friends and family. But, I do enjoy the opportunity to talk about it almost as much as I do listening to it.

[Robin414]

I hear ya, ahh the formitive years! Never understood why my parents liked Lawrence Welk...I get it now LOL 😉

[Jaylah414]

Okay... That made me laugh. Maybe I was lucky. My parents listened to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughn and Charlie Parker. So, I reckon, they thought Lawrence Welk was pretty lame, too.

[SandraInHose]

The 80's were my favorite decade for women's fashion for several reasons, most of all because this was women wore pantyhose quite often and with most everything. Being a pantyhose fetishist, I was in heaven.

However, this was also my single days, and I dated a lot, and got my fill of legs and nylons so I rarely dressed. Also, this was still back in the pre-internet days, and at that time I still had no idea there was anybody else who shared my interests. I was a straight man wanting to wear women's clothing, and I had no idea I wasn't alone. That fact had me questioning myself all the time as to what is wrong with me. That guilt tore me up, as even though I was getting plenty of satisfaction from females, I still couldn't shake the urge to want to dress up like them.

Thankfully the 2000's came along and I discovered there were many, many other men who were in the same boat as I was. In retrospect, had I known about CDing as I know today, I would have taken a LOT more advantage of the opportunities of those days!

[Paula_56]

Oh gosh! Yes , Big hair, shoulder pads and pantyhose were worn all the time!!!!!!!!!

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Robin:hugs:, I've been in this program for almost 69yrs., Yes I passed through the 80s'
and I may still have something from that era in the back of the closets
I'm sure that I got rid of those awful looking shoes.~~~~~~~~~~~...:daydreaming:...

[Jill_cd]

Tom Hanks, Peter Scollari, and Me. Looks like I was in good crossdressing company.

Me too! My parents were out of town for a few days and I (high school student) used my time wisely: purchased some heels, applied some makeup, borrowed some of my sister's clothing wore a scarf on my head and went to a 7-11 type convenient store at night. Browsed the magazine rack, Cosmo and some other women's magazines and then high-tailed it home. Still can't believe I did it. I still remember it like it was yesterday (over 30 thirty years ago). The scariest part was after I came home and parked the car, a car pulled into my driveway. I froze, thinking that my parents or sisters had returned early. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Nope, just someone using my driveway to turn around. Thank God!

[Christina Alice]

OK! How about the late 1940's and 50's! Christene Jorgensen roamed the world then.

Yes, how about that? I was born in the 40s so my formative years were in the 40s & 50s. I still adore the fashions from those years - like the 'New Look'. In fact, with the latest revival of that period, I still, wear them and will be going to a Christmas party at our local CD/TV Lynx Ladies in a couple of weeks in my new black Audrey Hepburn look-alike, complete with full skirt and petticoat.
The 80s was a great decade not just for fashions but music too and the memories of it all are great too. It felt as though everything was beginning to free up. The nineties felt like the opposite - all downbeat and miserable.

[Kate's at home]

Jaylah, tell me you were not the least bit effected by a young Stevie Nicks suddenly appearing on the scene dripping (beautifully) in black chiffon and lace?

What memories...

Kate

[Tami Joy]

what about the 70;s only change as time change love being in thongs now

[Nastasha]

I did, panties everyday 86 to 88, bra and or camisole during winter months as well. Got my first job in 86 and made good use of Wal-Marts layaway. By the time I graduated in 88 I had 20 bras and over 200 pairs of panties, a bikini, a one piece swimsuit, 10 or 12 camisoles, a dress, 3 or 4 skirts and 5 or 6 blouses. Ladies at Wal-Mart were very friendly and helpful, helped me find the right sizes in everything.
Went from Wally world to McRaes and Parisi an and started getting nicer clothes.
It's fun and always has been.

[Robin414]

I'm sure that I got rid of those awful looking shoes.~~~~~~~~~~~...:daydreaming:...

I don't know Orchid, I'll bet you still have a pair or two! 😉

[Diedre]

The 80's were OK. I could still somewhat pull off passing in the early part of the decade.

However, I have to agree with Karren. The 60's were a lot of fun. There was just something about wearing a long line bra, a panty girdle, nylons and a full length slip.

The tug of your garter tabs on the stocking tops as you walked was a constant reminder of what you had on. And the feel of the slip sliding over your butt and nylons cannot be described. It was really electric It was a fantastic time to crossdress.

[Sharon B.]

I confess to my older sister that I enjoy wearing her things in the early seventies, needless to say it didn't go over too well. She has threaten to tell our parents if I continue to wear her things, I slowed down but never really stopped. She did catch me a time or two wearing something of hers. Finally got the point of me figuring out my sizes in the J.C. Penny catalog and going out to purchase my own things.
She has that mind set that what I do is wrong.

[steffigirl37]

Had to reply to this. Yes I CD in the 80's. My wife and were just married. No kids yet. She worked as a secretary. Wore very nice clothes to work. Skirts, dresses, blouses. She know I would eventually get into them. And I did.

A lot of our friends were getting married also. We went to many weddings and of course she bought nice dresses to wear.. Several times she brought some home to try on knowing it would drive me crazy. I even got caught by her one time trying on a slinky green halter dress.

It was a fun time.

[Tina_gm]

Remember that what you see in the entertainment world is mostly fiction. Even KISS took off their make up once they were out of the public eye.

OMG- my 1st group. 1976 I was 11, or 12, member of the kiss army. Now- go figure, guys wearing spandex, 7" heels, red lipstick, nail polish....

Anywhoo, over the years, I have acquired wayyyy too much knowledge of said group. And, some of the earliest renditions of the group were this-

254116

Yeah, at 1st, they were doing drag, sorta. Of course, Paul Stanley has pretty much done it the entire time lol.

[Patty Phose]

I did. That's when I started and did it as often as I could. It was 4 years of dressing, partying and fun.

[Jessica S]

That 80's where my adolescent years. My brothers where older my dad passed mid teens. My mom would go stay at my aunts house for long periods of time. I would have the house to myself. I would where all her clothes I could fit into. I loved the 80's looks for the girls when I was in school very jealous of them.

[Leohose]

Yes leotards and hose for workouts.

[Ally 2112]

70's 80's 90's and to present day .There was a lot of stuff women were wearing that has influenced my dressing though all those years and really im thankful for changing fashions it keeps it interesting

[Maryesther M.]

I had to work in Germany in the late 80s-early 90s and that is when I started CD-ing in earnest. I was living alone for weeks on end in a big town where I wasn't known, but even there I only ventured out at night time, as I wouldn't ever 'pass' by daylight.

It was before the internet, but the mail order business was highly developed there and one could order off catalogues for home delivery, which allowed me accumulate my early CD stuff......wigs boobs & big shoes which I couldn't buy in bricks & mortar stores.

M.

[Vintage4sarah]

The 80s were a time for all of my TG feelings to be placed in a great big freezer as my profession and young family took precedence (both were a source of joy and pride to me). It would not be until the mid 90s my inner women started to thaw and by the turn of the century it blossomed out as it is today.

[JamieTG]

Glam rock, hair bands, eyeliner, and spandex. It was definitely a decade for androgony. I recently saw a few 80's Bon Jovi videos and Jon looked just like a girl.

[Lacy PJs]

The thing I remember most about the 80s was the aerobics craze... and LEOTARDS & TIGHTS! Ahh... those were good days indeed.

Lacy PJs

[Dana44]

Hey don't forget leg warmers. yeah the 80's were strange and fun.

[Sandie70]

Let's see... I spent the 50's at the Hop. The 60's in the Army and discovering pot. The 70's coming to grips with being bi-sexual. The 80's going through a wardrobe crisis. The 90's and teens in a daze. And now, whatever this era is... wishing I had a bigger closet.

[Helen 2]

I first went out dressed in the late 60s. Loved the 60s look way more than I did the 80s.

Same here except it was a bit earlier -the middle 60's- and I loved not only the look but the underwear/foundations of the 60's much better than the 80's, specially wearing real nylon stockings and either girdles or garter belts versus the itchy, yucky pantyhose of the 70's and 80's...long-line bras from Vassarette...sigh

Karren....we are dating ourselves!
XOXO

[Angie G]

I sure did but I wasn't out to my wife then.

[stellatoo]

In 1977, on the way home from school, a girl asked me if I was a boy or a girl. Yep, trendsetter, that's me!

That happened to me a few times as well:) Ah the days I could get away with no make up...

[LeotardMan]

I Started dressing in my Mom's leotards in the 1980's!!! That was a GREAT time for fitness clothing!!

Geoff

[Sarasometimes]

I have the 80's man perms to thank for my love of all the services women enjoy at the salon! it was my chance to sort of cross over without admitting or needing to explain it. I think the women's fashion of the 80's is easier to crossdress in. More figure forgiving?

[Rachel Sanders]

Oh the 80's! Those were the years I really started to figure out how to put on makeup since putting it on thick was the norm. I was more slender as well. Then the 90"s came along. I finally walked into a lingerie shop and purchased butt & hip padded panties. I would wear my girlfriends dresses and skirts. She was a size 12 at the time. I thought i looked pretty damn sexy! Those decades were pretty influential for me. It was easy to pass back then.

[donnaS]

I was in my teens, stealing my moms clothes to try on and wear!

[Rhonda Jean]

I did. What is still surprising to me about that time is to think about how easily some of this stuff became mainstream. I didn't see it from an adult perspective, but to me it was a non event. Men getting perms. All ages, blue collar, white collar, short hair, long hair, jocks and nerds. Nobody batted an eyelash at a man getting a perm. Lots and lots of boys with feather hair and bangs. I rolled my hair, which was uncommon, but it seemed like all the boys had some kind of hairstyle that had to be "done" every day with at least a round brush and a hair dryer. Platform heels. On stage some of those guys were wearing 6" heels. On the street 3" and 4" were common. Tight bell bottoms with a high waist. Colorful and satiny shirts. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot. Lots of things that would attract a lot of attention these days. And we think we're progressing!

[Lacey New]

The 80's ?- Oh yes. You could still buy garter belts and gartered stockings in just about any department store. And wonderful nylon hipster panties and Vanity Fair was Vanity Fair with a lot of pretty floral print panties. Yep.- good old days - and I could still find and wear a 36A bra too!

[LisaNJCD]

Absolutely!!!! Although it consisted mostly of my sisters closet! Thank god she was a diva back then! She got me started o the right path fashion wise and she doesn't even know it!

[threeheavenshigh]

I was in my teens, stealing my moms clothes to try on and wear!

My mother's pant suits had this delicious lining, and they seemed to go missing from time to time. Seemed like clothes were a higher quality back then, though maybe that's nostalgia. The colors certainly would perk me up.

Nowadays the best linings tend to be in black or red, not the bright colors of the 80's.

Luckily, Vanity Fair keeps making the panties (Personally Yours) I like best. I don't think they've changed their recipe since then.

[CONSUELO]

Even better in the 70's when you could wear really long hair, high-heeled shoes, velvet flair pants and a flowery blouse-like shirt. Underneath you could wear all sorts of beautiful lingerie as there was a greater variety to choose from than now.
Whatever the decade, the cross dressers just go with the flow.